answersLogoWhite

0


Best Answer

There was only one language throughout the earth before the Tower of Babel. At Genesis 11:1, we read that "all the earth continued to be of one language and of one set of words." God's purpose at that time was for mankind to spread out and populate the earth. When Nimrod commissioned the building of the Tower of Babel, this was in defiance of God. The people were building a city where they would likely stay in that one area. Genesis 11:7-9 goes on to tell us that Jehovah God then decided to "'...confuse their language that they may not listen to one another

User Avatar

Wiki User

17y ago
This answer is:
User Avatar
More answers
User Avatar

Wiki User

9y ago

Genesis 11:1-9 talks of a Tower of Babel being built right up to heaven by the people in their arrogance, and of God punishing the people by dispersing them and making them all speak in different languages. Before this, there was only one language on earth.

This story was added to Genesis quite late in Jewish history, during the Babylonian Exile. The exiled Jews, who had never before seen a great cosmopolitan city like Babylon, were in awe of the great ziggurut, a pyramid-like tower, and at the same time surprised to meet people who spoke so many different languages. They associated the tower, which seemed to reach to heaven, and the many strange languages, and so developed the story of the Tower of Babel.
What we do know is that there have always been different languages on earth. Even the Australian aborigines, who have been isolated from the rest of the world for some fifty thousand years, had several different languages among them.

This answer is:
User Avatar

User Avatar

AnswerBot

1w ago

According to The Bible, there was only one language before the Tower of Babel was built.

This answer is:
User Avatar

Add your answer:

Earn +20 pts
Q: How many languages were there before the Tower of Babel was built?
Write your answer...
Submit
Still have questions?
magnify glass
imp
Continue Learning about Linguistics

It fair that God confused the languages of people when they were making the tower of Babel?

From a theological perspective, it is believed that God's actions at the Tower of Babel were meant to thwart humanity's pride and arrogance. By confusing their languages and dispersing them, God prevented mankind from becoming too powerful or unified in opposition to Him. This event also symbolizes the consequences of disobedience and the importance of humility before God.


What happened at the Tower of Babel and why is it used in explaining language origins?

At the Tower of Babel, according to the Bible, humans attempted to build a tower to heaven. As punishment for their hubris, God caused them to speak different languages, leading to confusion and the scattering of people across the earth. The story is often used to explain why there are so many different languages in the world.


Why did god confuse the people's tongues when they built the Tower of Babel?

God confused the people's tongues at the Tower of Babel to prevent them from completing the tower, which they were building in defiance of Him. By causing the confusion of languages, God dispersed the people and limited their ability to communicate effectively to hinder their collaboration on the tower. This dispersion ultimately scattered them across the earth, fulfilling God's plan for human diversity and multiple civilizations.


Why is the Tower of Babel related to language?

The Tower of Babel story in the Bible explains the origin of different languages. According to the story, God caused confusion by making the builders speak different languages, leading to the scattering of people across the earth and the development of diverse languages.


What exactly happened in Babel and why it is used in explanations of language origins?

People from all over migrated East and settled in Shinar. They all spoke the same language and, as such, were a powerful group. They built a city and a great tower for notoriety. God saw this and realized a group this powerful would be hard to control. He scattered them over the Earth and messed up their speech so they couldn't understand each other anymore. This is why there are different languages across the world. To stop the building of the "tower" and the city, our Father gave mankind different languages (tongues) which confounded their communication (babel). The word Babel is Strong's Hebrew word 894 which is from the root word 1101 (look up both words). The biblical reference to Babylon is based upon this same word. The Babylon of the end times will provide confusion, misunderstanding upon the people who do not have the seal of God in their forehead (mind). The seal is to know our Fathers word, so the events of the end of this 2nd iteration of earth (see 2nd Peter ch 3), don't effect you.

Related questions

Was the tower of babel built before or after the flood?

Yes.


Were was the tower of Babel built?

In Babel next to the Kings palace.


Who built the tower of Babel?

Nimrod


Where was tower of babel built?

The Tower of Babel was built in Shinar on the plains. This is described as somewhere in the area of Mesopotamia, but no one actually knows exactly where.


Where was the Tower of Babel built?

The Tower of Babel was built in Shinar on the plains. This is described as somewhere in the area of Mesopotamia, but no one actually knows exactly where.


Why was tower of babel built?

a man named Nimrod, Noah's grandson, built the tower of babel to show everyone in the world that he was the greatest and mightiest person in the world.


Is the tower of babel and tower of mosque one in the same?

No, the Tower of Babel and the Mosque Tower are different structures. The Tower of Babel is a biblical story about a tower built to reach the heavens, while a Mosque Tower is a minaret attached to a mosque where the call to prayer is made.


It fair that God confused the languages of people when they were making the tower of Babel?

From a theological perspective, it is believed that God's actions at the Tower of Babel were meant to thwart humanity's pride and arrogance. By confusing their languages and dispersing them, God prevented mankind from becoming too powerful or unified in opposition to Him. This event also symbolizes the consequences of disobedience and the importance of humility before God.


Why was the tower of babel built?

The Tower of Babel was built because the descendants of Shem, Ham and Japeth wanted to make a name for themselves. They also didn't want to be split apart into the world


Why was the tower of babel to be built?

the people who lived there tried to build a tower high enough to get to heavan


Is the tower of babel the same as the temple of Babylon?

No, the Tower of Babel and the Temple of Babylon are not the same. The Tower of Babel is a biblical story about a tower built in the land of Shinar by a united humanity that angered God, leading to the confusion of languages. The Temple of Babylon, on the other hand, was a sacred structure in the ancient city of Babylon dedicated to the worship of deities such as Marduk.


Name of tower that was built to heaven and God confused the language?

Babel.